University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2018 A Zooarchaeological Study of Fishing Strategies Over Time at the Rio Chico Site on the Central Coast of Ecuador Amy Milson Klemmer University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Klemmer, Amy Milson, "A Zooarchaeological Study of Fishing Strategies Over Time at the Rio Chico Site on the Central Coast of Ecuador" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 1847. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1847 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF FISHING STRATEGIES OVER TIME AT THE RIO CHICO SITE ON THE CENTRAL COAST OF ECUADOR by Amy Milson Klemmer A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2018 ABSTRACT A ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF FISHING STRATEGIES OVER TIME AT THE RIO CHICO SITE ON THE CENTRAL COAST OF ECUADOR by Amy Milson Klemmer The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2018 Under the Supervision of Professor Jean Hudson, Ph.D. Human response to environmental crises is an issue we face today and will continue to face in the future. Food security, in the sense of access to sufficient nutrition, is a part of that. Ocean fisheries are among the critical resources affected. The archaeological record can provide insights into ecological strategies that did – or did not - work. Archaeological evidence of human occupation on the Ecuadorian coast stretches back 11,000 years, making this region of South America well-suited to evaluating ecological resilience and sustainability; however, detailed analyses of prehistoric fish remains from coastal Ecuador are rare. This thesis concerns prehistoric marine fishing strategies practiced along the coast of Ecuador and the impacts of environmental and cultural changes on human ecology. Archaeological evidence for which fishing strategies show ecological resilience and sustainability over time will be analyzed to evaluate approaches to food security over a span of 5000 years. ii © Copyright by Amy Milson Klemmer, 2018 All Rights Reserved iii To Isabel, Madeline, and James, Andy and Mom, Dad (1937-2017) iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Research Goals .........................................................................................................................................1 Significance ..............................................................................................................................................2 Organization of the Thesis ......................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND .................................................................................................. 5 Zooarchaeology: Review of the Literature ............................................................................................7 Environment ............................................................................................................................................9 The Prehistoric Environment and Cultural Trajectories .....................................................................13 Expected Fauna ...................................................................................................................................15 Cultural Background ............................................................................................................................16 Cultural Chronology on the Coast of Ecuador ....................................................................................16 The Preceramic Period ........................................................................................................................18 The Formative Period ..........................................................................................................................21 The Regional Diversification Period ...................................................................................................25 The Integration Period .........................................................................................................................26 Site Background: Rio Chico (N4C3-170) ............................................................................................29 Site Layout and Physical Setting .........................................................................................................29 Archaeological Work at the Site .........................................................................................................34 Previous Faunal Analyses ...................................................................................................................38 Modern-Day Rio Chico .........................................................................................................................39 Summary ................................................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER 3: METHODS ......................................................................................................... 41 Excavation Methods ..............................................................................................................................41 Salango Research Center ......................................................................................................................42 Sample Size and Preservation ..............................................................................................................43 Identification and Quantification .........................................................................................................45 Methodological Challenges ...................................................................................................................46 Defining the Temporal Components ....................................................................................................47 Defining the Spatial Contexts ...............................................................................................................48 Analysis ...................................................................................................................................................50 Summary ................................................................................................................................................51 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 52 Taxonomic Class vs UNID ....................................................................................................................52 Composition by Taxonomic Class ........................................................................................................54 Faunal Assemblage by Time Period ....................................................................................................56 Early Formative Period .......................................................................................................................57 Middle/Late Formative ........................................................................................................................59 Integration Period ................................................................................................................................61 Chronological Changes in the Relative Abundance of Fish ..............................................................64 Comparative Analysis of Valdivia and Manteño Communal Food Spaces .....................................67 A Closer Look at Fish ............................................................................................................................70 v Family-level Identifications ................................................................................................................70 Species-level Identifications ...............................................................................................................72 Chronological Analysis of Family and Species Level Fish Identifications .......................................75 Chronological Analysis of Potential Fishing Strategies Utilized .......................................................80 Summary ................................................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................